the affect of night shifts on me.

[TaggieCrimbleBlack]

1. Zits
2. Bowel more irritable than normal.
3. Dry skin.
4. Sore bleedy gums
5. TMJ flare up
6. Snappy
7. Tired
8. Tired
9. Tired

10. Tired

11. Shocking grammar.

YABU

Agree. Night shifts are not good for your health ( but it was always my favourite shift).

They are a necessary evil if that's the line of work you are in. I think they are useful at certain points in your life. Are they new to you?

Nah. Always done some. Always hated them. Beyond evil.

I've done nights since 1988 albeit part time . I love going to bed during the day!

How can I make it easier. I°m so tired I could cry. Need to leave again in 45 mins.

I get the zits and dry skin. It's a nightmare cos my nights are 2 days out of every 10 so it never fully goes until I have some time off!

I feel the same about day shifts tbh.

Especially earlies.

I became quite ill on nights. Looking back I think I may have suffered a breakdown!
My gp signed me off for a bit then occupational health reduced my nights.
I could never go back to them now.

i feel sorry for my husband, he does 6am-2pm, 2pm-10pm and 10pm-6am a week of each.

nights are the worse, i did them before DC and vowed only if we was in dire need i would do it again

YANBU. I hate them, dread them for far too long in advance, feel ill through the night and can't sleep in the day. Uurgh!

I found night shifts easier if I stayed up on returning home, instead of going to bed straight away. Have some proper down time before going to bed. On night shifts it is easy to eat crap food, so proper meal plans are advisable.
Quality sleep is best. Do you get disturbed during the day? Do you get up earlier than you should? My night shift sleep was usually about 4/5 hours when normally 7 would be ideal.

Get a SAD lamp, you know one of those sunshine substitutes. Put it on your desk (assuming y have one) really helped me when I did might shifts. Control room operator for the police, so I was at my desk the whole shift. I appreciate if you are a nurse this won't work.

McChristmasPants, is your dh a copper?

I hate nights too... In winter I pretty much never see daylight, in summer I can't sleep during the day because it's too warm/people are out and about making too much noise/I resent being indoors if it's sunny.

The only upside is that when I finish on Friday morning I know I'm going home to bed while everyone else looking miserable on the tube is off to work for one more day.

Still hate them though. I get fat on nights because I comfort eat like a biatch.

Hated them. Made my IBS ten times worse, id always vomit from 5am onwards, cry all day on my last shift and become a general irrational snap dragon.
Luckily ive just started a 9-5 job and it suits me so much more!

Oh god night shifts- I lost so much weight and got a chest infection when I dabbled in them. Never again. although losing weight sounds good

You have my pity.

I don't miss nights. I thought I'd have to one tonight when I couldn't cover the shift but managed it at the last minute.
I'll probably kiss the nurse in the morning.
I can understand your pain.

Mcchristmas pants, I used to do these shifts too. But we did 7 nights, 7 lates and 7 earlies and it was hell on earth!
We now do 3x2 and it's sooo much better. I love my nightshifts, but having just been off for about 10 weeks following surgery, it's the healthiest I've felt for a very long time, 8 hours sleep a night every night. I didn't realise how much the shifts take out of me until I had an extended break from them.

Zits and digestive problems are my worst symptoms- I get horrendously painful wind at about 4 am when I'm on nights-it's agony!

no, he is a warehouse supervisor.

How long are your shifts? Are they varied with day shifts or can you get into a routine with them? Are you alone on your night shifts? Can you vary them with periods of time when you can break routine?

DP used to do variable shifts, 3 x 7am - 7pm days, 3 x 7pm - 7am nights and 3 days off. Ultimately it gave him diabetes but he did have the freedom (eventually, when the night shifts were cut down from 2 to 1 staff) to do periodic physical workouts, reading, internet. Food wise, cook when you can (proper food), freeze it and make it easy for yourself to have healthy reheats. Sorry you are feeling so shit

YANBU. DH is an ex nurse and used to do 7 nights of 12 hours plus breaks, so about 14 hours) in a row. He was hell to live with. One of the many reasons he is now an ex nurse.

You have my complete and utter sympathy Taggie. How many nights are you doing? I start nights tomorrow though I'm only doing two but I'm dreading them.
I experience nausea, constipation and awful, awful mood swings. During the day I use earplugs, an eye mask and a fan to block out any sunlight/noises.
Hope your nights pass swiftly.

I know they can make you feel like shit but how good is that feeling of getting home from work and getting into bed when everyone else is on their way to work, especially when it's raining!! Oh and it's even better when it's a Monday morning! Love that feeling!!

Id agree that its important to have some downtime when you get in at night....eat a proper meal (my mum used to plate up an extra dinner) then TV for an hour or two before bed. In fact, eating properly is very important because its easy to slip into a sugar/carb/coffee spiral on nights. Thats gonna make you feel like crap. So id eat my cereal and smoothie when I got up at lunchtime, salads and sarnies before I left and proper dinner when I came home at 3/4am.

Lots of water through the shift (avoid the coffee) and make sure you get some sunshine/natural light during the day. ALso try and fit in some exercise before your next shift - even a 30 min brisk stroll will make you feel better.